


Things Were Different Before This

by terryreviews



Series: Vincturi Drabbles [13]
Category: Fright Night (2011), Twilight (Movies)
Genre: Angst and Hurt/Comfort, Gen, Injury Recovery, M/M, Quarantine, Serious Injuries
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-08-21
Updated: 2020-08-21
Packaged: 2021-03-07 02:53:42
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,921
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26019859
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/terryreviews/pseuds/terryreviews
Summary: Aro takes Nosferatu with him to the hospital where Peter is being treated for injuries sustained by a reckless hunt.
Relationships: Aro (Twilight)/Peter Vincent, Vincturi - Relationship
Series: Vincturi Drabbles [13]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1675858
Comments: 8
Kudos: 18





	Things Were Different Before This

**Author's Note:**

  * For [Twisha](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Twisha/gifts).



Aro listened over through the doors, the walls, over the din of beeping machines, laughter, wails of despair, he could focus on Peter. Hear his heart, his assisted breathing, the conversations between the doctors and nurses as they passed instruments to one another.

They, at first, wouldn’t let him bring Nosferatu into the waiting room. When several children crowded around and wanted to pet him and seemed to bring up their morale, they let him stay.

Caius, Jane, and Alec (amongst several others that happened to be milling about) stared after him as he rushed through the castle to Peter’s room, grabbed Nosferatu, and headed back to the entrance, practically in the same movement. Nosferatu hardly having a chance to mew as he was plucked from his pillow.

“Not a word,” he warned as Caius opened his mouth, cradling the sleepy bundle against his chest, as he went to the front foyer to retrieve the car keys. Typically, he’d be driven but desperate times and all that. Thankfully, he had found the card keys tucked in a drawer in the reception desk a day or so ago after Nosferatu’s surgery (he’d have to remember to tell Peter that. Perhaps the irony that they had to run to the vet when the keys were in such an obvious place might make him laugh). Promising to Peter that he would meet him at the hospital as he’d been loaded in an ambulance.

For two hours now, he was in the waiting room, surrounded by a rotation of sickly children and other patients. Thankfully, Nosferatu was behaving, allowing the numerous people to pet him. No nipped fingers or scratched palms. In fact, he was purring quite loudly and rubbing himself against several of the eager hands and faces that pressed against him.

“Attention seeker like your father I see?” Aro had said with an absent fondness, but mostly he stared at the swinging doors, and forced himself to focus on Peter.

“Why don’t you blink?” A high pitched, curious, voice asked causing Aro to break his focus and turn towards the questioner.

A small child in their pajamas with bandages around their head was staring up at him.

“I do blink.”

“Nuh-uh. You don’t.” the child said, shaking their head as they scratched behind Nosferatu’s ears.

Aro sighed, resisting the urge to roll his eyes to the ceiling before deliberately blinking, “I don’t need to blink as often as you do.”

“Why?”

Aro thought for a second before coming up with an apt excuse, “because I produce more tears than what is natural. Not enough to cause me to cry, but enough to keep my eyes moist. Tears are what keeps your eyes moist, blinking helps keep your eyes from drying out, but as I naturally produce more tears, I don’t need to blink as often as you do.”

“Oh,” the child said, seeming satisfied and Aro turned his attention back to the swinging doors, preparing to focus his senses once more so he could hear Peter before he was interrupted again, “why are your eyes red?”

“It’s part of my eye condition. Now, please,” he said patiently, “do stop asking questions. I’m rather sensitive about it.” 

The child looked back to Nosferatu and mumbled, “sorry.”

“Quite alright.”

He went back to ignoring the child and tried to find Peter again over the noise. Instead, he found the Doctor’s voice talking about the case and listened in.

She was talking to the other doctor assisting her. The numerous injuries, the internal bleeding, broken bones, and collapsed lung, all would heal. The surgeries had been a success and Peter was to be put into a recovery room to be monitored for about a half hour and then moved to his regular room for the remainder of his stay.

They would be coming to speak to him soon. Probably after he was moved to his proper room.

A half hour later, after the questioning child had long been brought back to their room (along with the rest of the children) Aro was left with a very pleased Nosferatu dozing in his lap, absently petting the creature as he waited for them to let him see Peter.

Eventually, “Mr. Volturi, Mr. Vincent’s condition is stabilized,” they proceeded to go over the internal injuries, broken bones, and other such things before assuring him that Peter was stabilized yet again, that he was going to remain in the hospital for a while yet (in part due to Aro’s generous over paying for the cost of his darling’s surgery plus a donation to the hospital with the assurances that he be kept here, under guard if necessary, until he was very clearly almost healed) and that he can visit him now. He may just be coming out of the anesthesia and be warned he may be groggy.

He had to remind himself to move at a human pace as he went to Peter’s room. 

Peter was looking about himself, confused and smacking his lips.

“I suspect,” Aro said as he came into the room, “that you are thirsty.” Holding Nosferatu in one hand, Aro picked up a plastic cup left on the side table of Peter’s bed and went into the bathroom to fill it up with water and return to Peter. “No, no, don’t try to sit up any more than they have you,” carefully, he tipped the cup against Peter’s lips and let him gulp until it was finished (which happened very quickly and a testament to the many days drinking Peter had spent).

Went it was done, Aro set the cup down with a deliberate click and found a chair to sit in, crossing his legs, all very exact and deliberate.

Peter watched him and sighed, tossing his head back, “stop that. When you move like that, it means you’re pissed.”

Aro narrowed his lids and said nothing, setting Nosferatu on his lap for Peter to see as he began to stroke the animal.

“Don’t look at me like that. Come on.”

Aro’s facial expression did not change and he remained silent.

“Look, it’s not like I hadn’t done this before.”

“Things were different before Peter. Firstly, since moving to Volterra you have not been on any hunts. You and I both know why, do not pretend.” Peter shut his mouth and Aro continued, “Secondly, the fact that you did not even think to tell me? Why would you just leave like that? A small note? That was all I would have left of you had I not figured out where you had gone, saved you, and rushed you to the hospital. Which, as I had initially done this by carrying you and running there, could have exposed me, my kind, is that what you wanted?”

“No!”

“Then why?” Aro did not yell, did not need to yell, to make his emotions known.

“I’m sorry. Okay,” Peter growled and then winced, “I...I felt like...I was trapped. I mean, I never really had settled down anywhere before. Not like this. And then with the whole pandemic keeping me trapped, not being able to speak Italian so I can’t really communicate with the people I do see, your family hating me, I just...I wanted to blow off steam. I wanted to get back to what I was suppose to be doing. Hunting. I mean, I know that you brought me here for...for us. The hunting thing was secondary to that. I understand that, but it is still part of why you brought me here. I wanted to get out, I wanted to make it so your family wouldn’t think I was just...like..your pet or something. That I was useful and maybe take some of the heat off of you, off of me.”

Aro could hear the sentimentality, feel the emotions in Peter’s words, see the mixture of sadness, regret, anger, bitterness, all of those micro expressions compiling into a plea for understanding and wanting forgiveness, yet still, Aro had to make his point clear.

“By nearly getting yourself killed and making me look weak by running after you? Bare in mind, love, I will always come to your rescue. However, when my brothers, my guards, see me running after a mere human like i did with you, it undermines my authority. Which, by the many allowances I already grant you, with your brazen defiance, no, no, don’t fret it is one of the reasons I love you, is weakening by the day. I can veil it, thinly, in the need for a hunter, with allusions to turning you in the near future, but all of those are barely tolerated excuses as to why i keep you around.”

Peter hung his head, looking even more pale than he had been, the machine monitoring his heart beat picking up a fraction.

“Wha...what happens now?”

Aro rose, “I suppose I shall have to instill their fear and respect once more, but, as it currently stands,” he went to Peter’s side, “as you would say, no harm, no foul. No one saw me in my vampiric state and if they did, they either pretended they didn’t or wouldn’t be believed. My family will continue to tolerate you and I will continue to love you but I do hope that this is a lessoned learned to not go running off. If you needed to get out, I would have found a way for you. You needed to communicate with me.”

Peter didn’t look up, “I thought you’d say no. You haven’t been letting me out. Doing all the shopping and stuff just to keep me safe.”

“We’ve been going on walks,” Aro protested, “I’ve been spending more time with you.”

“I appreciate those, I honest to god do,” Peter took his hand and lifted his tear soaked face, “but I needed to get out. Do something. Feel productive. You know?”

Aro turned his hand over to entwine their fingers and sighed, “I do understand Peter.” He bent and gave a small kiss to his forehead, “and I promise you, that when you are healed, we will go somewhere. I have another estate we could travel to. Mind you, it still won’t be full of parties and such, but it might be a nice change of pace for you.”

“Thank you.”

“Oh,” Aro teased, running a thumb under Peter’s eyes, “there’s no need for tears darling. I know you are sorry and I am sorry that you didn’t feel you could communicate with me.”

Nosferatu chose that time to make a loud meow.

“Nossy!” Peter cried out, a smile breaking out over his face, “I didn’t even realize you had him with you! I didn’t think they’d let him in.”

“For the amount of money I paid they wouldn’t dare to say no. Besides, he made quite a lot of friends with a number of the child patients here. A number of them were brought out to pet him. It was said to boost their morale.” Aro held the cat out for Peter to pet, not trusting to lay him over Peter’s stomach or chest.

“Awe, you made friends buddy? Yeah? Daddy’s so happy you came to visit him. Who’s a good boy? That’s right, you’re my good, handsome boy.”

Nossy and Aro stayed until visiting hours were over and Aro promised Peter he’d visit tomorrow and the next day and the next. Maybe not always with their “son” but he’d be back and Peter would be fine.


End file.
